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Kaden Radcliffe's diary
'Once Upon A Time' Once upon a time. M'''OST, IF NOT ALL FAIRY TALES BEGIN WITH THAT EXACT PHRASE. Even if the phrase isn't explicitly depicted in the text, there will be some variant of it shown instead. A prime example would be ''"there was once...", or even '"in a kingdom long ago...". It is a rather byzantine effort to attempt to even imagine any fairy tale beginning with a different phrase that does not match the very idea of "once upon a time". I am absolute in my convictions of fairy tale introductions, and I assume such sentiments is widely-agreed on by other individuals. Now, with that statement out of the way... Perhaps an even more complicated affair—one even more so than a fairy tale not beginning with "once upon a time"—would be the very thought of an individual such as yourself being inserted into these stories. Wouldn't such a scenario be especially peculiar? One day, you are simply a resident in Book End—or some other mundane village or location—then the next day, you find yourself in the position of either a valiant and courageous Prince Charming, a cruel and heinous Wicked Witch, or an angelic and fair Princess. Such a scenario would be peculiar indeed... Now, imagine my perplexity when I discovered that I'' would find myself in that particular scenario. Yes, I'd written that correctly. I was chosen as a 'successor' to a particular fairy tale figure—Karen, from ''The Red Shoes. In addition to that revelation, I would also attend the prestigious Ever After High, the school where the students in attendance children and successors of famous—and infamous—fairy tales. For years, I've long been envious of the students who were fortunate enough to attend such a prestigious school. My green-eyed monster found sentience once I came to realize those students had a purpose—something which I've desired for the longest time. It was something that my life sorely lacked until now. In several months or so, I will be attending Ever After High as one of the many students entering their first year. Within those several months is also the Orientation Tour, which fortunately I'll be attending. My dearest companion, Everett Horn—my Pythias—was also chosen as a successor for a different fairy tale (of which he's yet to disclose to me). I am more than ecstatic to attend the school alongside my long-time mate, though I've noticed he's less enthusiastic about the arrangements than me. I'm willing to bet he'll come around once we've been fully situated at the school. Together''''. The role I was chosen for—''Karen—is not a role which could be described as child's play. Rather, it is a '''problematic' role for myself to fulfill (at least from the research I've done of it). I simply can't afford to slack during the time between now and my first day at the school, so instead I shall dedicate my time to studying the fairy tale itself, as well as other tales of its caliber (I had advised Everett to do the same). However, there is still much time before my first day. Alongside studying, I will also fantasize about my new life as being a student of Ever After High. Finally, I'm able to think about my own destiny. 'Chapter One: Orientation Tour' S'''EVERAL DAYS PRIOR TO OUR VISIT TO EVER AFTER HIGH FOR OUR ORIENTATION TOUR, Everett finally revealed to me the story he was chosen as a successor for, which was titled ''The Singing Bone''. After days of probing him for that information, he simply told me the title of it, but never elaborated on it further. Truthfully, my ability to read others has never been my sharpest skill. Despite that fact however, I could deduce that from his overall reluctance in revealing additional information to me, he seemed rather... shaken? I'm unsure myself if that was even the correct word to use, but I noticed that he was quite fidgety as he was telling me the name of his story. Noticing his state of unrest made me realize I should cease in pestering him about it, so I dropped the subject and decided not to dwell too much on it. Unfortunately, my curiosity wasn't completely satisfied. Still, I managed to push my curiosities to the back of my mind and forgot about it for the rest of that day and the days that followed. To me, I felt like I was doing Everett a favor without his knowing. For the Orientation Tour on the Ever After High campus, I made a grand attempt at dressing myself as handsomely as I could. Suffice to say, I failed ''royally'.'' To be ''completely frank, I wouldn't call myself the epitome of dashingly handsome'' styling choices'. My own personal attire has always appealed to practicalities and sensibilities, so I've normally dressed rather casually and simply. Additionally, I had previously attended a private middle school in Book End, and the strict dress code called for the students to only wear the uniforms (which the school provided to the students). As a result, I've always dressed the same as my peers, therefore I never saw a purpose in distinguishing myself through my wardrobe—however, I did distinguish myself in ''other methods. My attempts at dressing myself was rather disastrous—perhaps too disastrous to even put down in words. Fortunately, my doting cousin '''Peggy' managed to rescue me from my own tragic fashion endeavors. Peggy attended the same private school I recently graduated from, however she was a year younger than me and therefore would have to attend her last year once the summer holiday concluded. Like me, she too was subjected to the strict dress code regulations set up by the school. Despite that, Peggy—who's always been the most clever girl I've known—was keen on expressing her individuality in spite of her shabby uniform. Even outside of school, Peggy dressed herself in a presentable yet lively manner (completely unsure of how I should describe fashion). To me, Peggy was the epitome of ''dashingly handsome'' styling choices''' '(though I'd never say that to her outright), even if the terms "dashingly handsome" didn't directly suit her. Once Peggy laid her eyes on the apparel I had ''attempted to pass of as "presentable", she let out a pterodactyl-like screech. Needless to say, she was ''mortified''. She later fixed me with a simple yet elegant attire consisting of: a dark-navy dress shirt, tawny trousers with vertical stripes that were a shade lighter than the trousers, and a sweater vest that was also tawny in color. I was rather surprised at first, for I hadn't expected for her to piece together such simple articles of clothing for me. "You do remember what school I'm visiting, correct?" I asked her as she handed me the clothes. "Relax, it's only a tour of the school. Besides, you don't need to dress so over the top for that school anyways!" She reassured, then smiled sweetly to me. Her smile—while bright and genuine—was a sign for me to not even '''dare to argue with her. And I didn't intend to argue with her, either. After I fully dressed myself in the clothes Peggy picked out for me, she assisted me in taming my hair. She asked about Everett and his destined fairy tale, to which I replied by bluntly stating its title—''The Singing Bone—and nothing more. Peggy seemed to understand that's all I could reveal about Everett's destined story. ''"Do you intend on doing research on 'The Singing Bone'?" Peggy asked. "As soon as the tour ends, I'm heading straight to the public library," I replied. Peggy hummed as she patted down my hair. I recognized the song she was humming, which was "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Faerik Satie. "Everett mentioned that was his favorite piano composition" ''I said, with the intent of teasing her. ''"Is that right? How coincidental..." ''She replied, feigning innocence. We then both started laughing. After some time, we both decided we did what we could in attempting to tame my hair and later gave up, defeated. Peggy insisted I should ''never grow out my hair, and I promptly agreed with her. In the middle of our conversation, we heard the doorbell ring and we both raced down the stairs. Before we could make it to the bottom of the staircase, my auntie – or Peggy's mum – had already opened the door and greeted the guest. Peggy and I stood on the the same steps on the staircase and examined the individual at the door. "I'm sorry if I arrived a bit earlier than expected," the individual said as they stepped into the house. The individual was Everett! ----- B'''EFORE I STEPPED ONTO THE NEXT STEP ON THE STAIRCASE, Peggy rushed to the bottom and jubilantly greeted Everett. They exchanged a warm hug (which almost seemed like an embrace?) and I could only imagine Peggy—who I noticed had a subtle flush on her cheeks—internally losing her composure. I finally made it to the bottom of the staircase and walked towards Everett, who was dressed in apparel similar to mine. I noticed my auntie happily returning to her activities in the kitchen. ''"You're just on time, '''Pythias," I said to him as we exchanged a hug between ourselves. I could feel him chuckle as my golden mane tickled him slightly. He then escaped from the hug abruptly, opting to sit next to Peggy on the floral-printed couch. I seemed to be the only individual in the room who was perplexed by his gesture. Still, I tried not letting that tiny action bother me. Besides, I was feeling quite joyous that my friend was visiting. I sat on a loveseat besides the couch. ''"I assume you're all prepared for the tour," Everett said to me, studying my choice of attire with a look of approval. "You should've seen what he tried getting away with wearing before I saved him from '''utter embarrassment'!" '' Peggy proudly stated, and I shot her a glare accompanied by a nervous chuckle. Everett was laughing as well—his laugh was a pure sound, as pure as a melody. "Oh please, Peggy. Everett already knows I'm no aficionado when it comes to fashion," I said in an assertive, matter-of-fact tone, but I was feigning slight embarrassment (luckily for me, neither of them noticed). "Even if you aren't whatever you just said," ''Everett started, "''you can at least make a good impression on the people at the tour." "You're absolutely right, Everett! And it'll be because of me," ''Peggy stated proudly. I wanted to roll my eyes at her, but I resisted because of how endearing her excitement at agreeing with Everett seemed to me. ''"I suppose I should pursue fashion advice from you more often then," ''I said to Peggy, my tone half-genuine, half-sarcastic. She simply stuck her tongue out at me. Everett chuckled at our exchange—which was a '''playful quarrel between cousins', if you will. "Say, you two," ''Peggy began, ''"when is the tour precisely?" She asked glancing at the grandfather clock in the room. "The horse-drawn carriage arrives at three o'clock, on the dot," Everett answered. He then took a quick look at his watch. "There's still thirty minutes until the carriage arrives to pick Kaden and me up." "Is it just you two going?" Peggy continued asking. "No, mum said she'd hand the shop over to one of her employees so she'd be able to accompany us. In fact, I think she's due to come home very soon," ''I answered, then looked to the front door with hopes that my mum would walk right into the house at this very moment. ''"My mother needs to stay home, and Lily has to stay home with her, so I'm alone on this trip unfortunately," ''Everett said with a hint of ''wistfulness to his tone. He averted his gaze from both Peggy and me, and allowed for a strand of hair to fall in front of his face. "I see," Peggy softly said in a hushed tone. There was a period of uncomfortable silence among the three of us, with the only noise being the sound of humming from the kitchen (presumably this was my auntie). "I, uh," ''Peggy began rather meekly, then swallowed and wet her lips. She let out a deep exhale, then asked, ''"I don't suppose I'm not prohibited from joining along, am I?" I examined Everett's expression as he made eye contact with Peggy. He fixed the single strand of hair that had fallen in front of his face and tucked it back. Then, he smiled. "I don't see an issue with it," Everett responded. Peggy's eyes seemed to glitter with joy. I let out a playful scoff. "You can come if there's enough room in the carriage," I teased. Peggy gave me a light punch in the arm, and we both started laughing. "Of course you can come," ''I assured to her afterwards. Everett began chuckling, echoing a similar exchange from earlier. A '''playful quarrel between cousins', if you will. -----'T'''HE SOUND OF THE DOOR CREAKING OPEN' 'caused for much excitement from the three of us. One minute we were sat on the sofas, chatting and exchanging village gossip, and the next minute we had all rushed to greet my mum as she entered the house. She was amused as we gathered around her. ''"You children are rather upbeat today," she commented as she set her hat on the coat-rack. "Eloise! You mustn't play dumb," ''Peggy jested while grinning from ear to ear. ''"You know why we're all excited." Mum giggled as a response. I playfully rolled my eyes at the two of them, but as I did this, I noticed Everett expressing a less thrilled disposition. Rather, he seemed rather withdrawn as he attempted to appear invested in Peggy and my mum's exchange. Just as I was about to question him, he suddenly brightened up and addressed my mum: "Eloise, was the shift in the shop busier than usual?" Fervently, she nodded. "I hadn't expected so many customers in one afternoon," ''she said while untying the laces of her boots before setting them to the side. ''"You know how school children are, leaving their summer readings until the last minute." "I'm fortunate to have done mine as soon as it was assigned," ''Peggy proudly stated. ''"And you finished it within a week!" ''Mum gleefully commended her. Both Everett and I couldn't help but crack a smile. I then nudged him in the arm, with a grin painted on my visage. ''"Luckily for Everett and me, summer readings aren't necessary for students of Ever After High," I said, expecting my friend to add onto my comment. To my disappointment, he didn't. Instead, he addressed my mum once more. "Peggy was wondering if she could accompany us on the tour, m'am," ''he spoke rather sheepishly, and though he seemed to not notice, Peggy's cheeks flushed red as he brought up such an idea to my mum. ''"Did she now?" ''Mum asked, with a curious look on her face. Her gaze met Peggy's, who laughed nervously. ''"It was simply a thought I had," ''Peggy explained with a slightly shaky tone. ''"If it's not okay with you, then I'll be satisfied with remaining at home if you—" "How silly of you," my mum interjected, "of course it's okay!"Category:Diaries Category:Fanfiction Category:Original Character Fanfiction Category:Amatoresx Category:Amatoresx's Fanfictions Category:Work in progress